The inter-religious meeting of prayer for peace wanted by John Paul II on October 27th 1986, in Assisi, "looks like a veritable prophecy", also in the light of the "events that have taken place in the last twenty years and the situation which mankind is going through": this was written by Benedict XVI in a letter to the archbishop of Assisi, mgr. Domenico Sorrentino, which the archbishop read today, on opening the International Meeting organised by Comunità di S. Egidio, the diocese of Assisi and the Bishops Conference of Umbria, called "For a world of peace: religions and cultures talking to each other”. One of the most outstanding events that the Pope mentioned is "the fall of the Communist-inspired regimes in Eastern Europe", with the end of the "cold war": "That commented the Holy Father was a time of a widespread hope for peace", but sadly "the third millennium has opened on scenes of terrorism and violence that look as if they are not going to fade away. The fact, then, that armed conflicts now take place above all on the background of the geopolitical tensions existing in many regions might give the impression that not only cultural differences but religious differences too cause instability or threaten peace". Hence the importance of John Paul II’s invitation "to the world’s religious leaders to give an unanimous sign of peace". (to be continued)
